Summer
Lovin'
Ah,
the summer fling…as American as baseball and canned beer. Who
among us doesn’t have fond memories of that special vacation
tryst, the whirlwind romance that lasted a perfect two weeks?
But back in the workaday world, the flames often fizzle after
a mere fortnight. Why is it so hard to find that special someone
who will stoke our coals through the long and lonely winters
too?
In
Truer Than True Romance (Watson-Guptill), humorist Jeanne
Martinet hypothesizes that the search for True Love has been
tainted by the misguided notions put into our heads as impressionable
adolescents—specifically by the romance comics that flourished
from the late 1940s through the ’70s. In this send-up of American
pop culture, Martinet cleverly satirizes the idealized love
stories of yore by taking the original DC Comics artwork from
vintage romance comic books and providing all new word balloons
and captions for each story. In Martinet’s hands, the tale once
titled, "In Favor of Love!" becomes "My Heart Said Yes–But My
Therapist Said No!" The book features ten of these martini-twisted
tales, as well as advice columns by such "experts" as Tess T.
and Dee Pressen. Their cynical take on getting the guy (or girl)
will have you laughing outloud.
With
elements of Bridget Jones and Sex and the City plus a dash of
Cynthia Heimel, Truer Than True Romance is the consummate
guide for the single set. If you’re looking for a summer love
affair, take this one along to the beach. You might not land
that handsome lifeguard or buxom bikini babe, but you’ll soak
up the rays with a smile on your face.
-Joanne O’Day
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